Things to do in Sangkhlaburi
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Baan Unrak
The large orange building overlooking the town is Baan Unrak, which cares for orphaned or abandoned children from ethnic groups.
As well as the children's home, Baan Unrak runs a weaving centre to provide an income for local women, helps single mothers, and works with HIV/AIDS patients.
Most of the children at Baan Unrak are Karen and all follow the home's neohumanist philosophy of vegetarianism, universal love and meditation.
Due to the large refugee numbers in Sangkhlaburi there is great demand for such services, and volunteers are always needed. The home usually only accepts helpers for six months or longer, but visitors are welcome. The children stage yoga performances a…
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Baan Unrak Bakery
Vegetarians will love this meat-less cafe, which has fine pastries. The bakery is part of the Baan Unrak organisation.
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Hilltribe Learning Centre
Set on a remote hillside 10km south of Sangkhlaburi is the Hilltribe Learning Centre. When Buddhist nun Pimjai Maneerat went to meditate in the forest in 1997 she was soon asked by ethnic groups to teach them. The centre she founded has grown and now has a rudimentary school for its 70 children, but remains an extremely remote outreach program. Students are mostly Karen and learn Thai language and basic life skills. Without the centre, they would have no education. Nun Pimjai, who runs the place virtually single-handedly, welcomes any volunteers who can teach or help with daily chores. English teachers are particularly needed.
Basic accommodation is available for anyone wa…
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Weaving for Women
Along the same road as P Guest House, it sells hand-woven goods made by Mon and Karen refugee women.
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Wang Kha
A rickety wooden bridge (Saphan Mon), said to be the longest of its kind in Thailand, leads to this Mon settlement. The village relocated here after the dam's construction flooded the original settlement. Burma's conflicts forced many Mon into Thailand and now Wang Kha has its own unmistakable character. Children play a form of cricket, women smoke giant cheroots and many wear traditional white face powder.
At the end of the bridge is Dok Bua Homestay, which has rafthouses and regular rooms. A day market in the village centre is always busy, while north of this is Wat Wang Wiwekaram (Wat Mon), the spiritual centre of the Mon people in Thailand. The temple has two complexes…
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Khao Laem Reservoir
This enormous lake was formed when the Vachiralongkorn Dam (known locally as Khao Laem Dam) was constructed across Mae Nam Khwae Noi in 1983. The lake submerged an entire village at the confluence of the Khwae Noi, Ranti and Sangkhalia Rivers. In the dry season Wat Sam Prasop is clearly visible.
The pre-dawn hour is a magical time, when the grey and blue mists and sounds of nature envelop the water.
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